Blowpipe



INVENTORS JOHN W. OFFUTT. WILL IAM a. HAMPTON.

"ATTORNEY Ot 12, 1937. J. w. OFFUTT ET AL BLOWPIPE Filed Jan; '16, 1934Patented Oct. 12, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE BLOWPIPE ApplicationJanuary 16, 1934, SerialNo. 706,831

2 Claims.

This invention relates to blowpipes for heating, welding, cutting ordeseaming metal work; and more particularly to an improved mechanism orsystem for quickly and easily opening the heat.- ing gas control valvesand igniting the combustible heating gas delivered by such blowpipes.

After finishing an operation with a conventional blowpipe, the operatorusually turns ofi the valves controlling the supply of heating gas whichis a mixture of oxygen and a fuel gas such as acetylene, thusextinguishing the blowpipe flame and avoiding the fire hazard and auseless waste of the gases. When the next operation is started it hasbeen necessary to open and re-adjust the valves and re-light the gas. Toadjust the blowpipe for an operation, it has been the usual practice tofirst slightly open the fuel gas valve; then to use an open flame orhandlighter to ignite the gas issuing from theblowpipe nozzle; next, toslightly open the oxygen valve; and finally, to adjust each of thesevalves until the proper heating .flame is obtained. When extinguishingtheblowpipe, the oxygen valve should first be closed, after which thefuel gas valve is closed. Obviously, aside from the possible confusionin manipulating these valves and the resulting danger to the operatorand the equipment due to backfire, this procedure involves considerableloss of time and waste of gas,especially where,

as in some plants and factories, it is repeated many times in a workingday; and where, as in blowpipes for deseaming steel billets, blooms,ingots, etc., large gas passages are provided to deliver large volumesof gas.

Accordingly, the main object of this invention is to provide a blowpipehaving a valve mechanism and a gas ignition system whereby such dangers,losses, and waste may be greatly reduced.

-Another object of the invention is to provide a blowpipe equipped witha valve mechanism and a gas ignition system which is simple inconstruction and convenient to operate.

The above and other objects and the novel features of this inventionwill be apparent from the following description taken with theaccompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view of a blowpipe embodying this invention, the work andparts of the blowpipe being shown diagrammatically;

Fig. 2 is a View diagrammatically illustrating the passages and valvesof the blowpipe shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the auxiliary gas control valves, taken onthe line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

and

Fig. 4 is a View of another blowpipe embodying thisinvention,illustrating an alternative ignition system. i

Generally speaking, this invention comprises a blowpipe for heating,welding, cutting or deseaming metals which is equipped with a heatinggascontrol mechanism and an electrical ignition system, both quickly andconveniently operable to deliver a properly proportioned combustiblemixture and to ignite the same without substantial delay or waste of gasand without danger to the operator or the equipment. In the preferredembodiment of the invention, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the nozzle andother parts of the blowrarily interrupt the flow of the gases to thenozzle or to permit the flow of the gases .to deliver a properlyproportioned combustible mixture, thus eliminating the necessity ofrepeatedly opening, closing, and adjusting the main shut-off valves.

The switch of the ignition circuit desirably is so located on theblowpipe that it may be conveniently operated concurrently with theauxiliary valves and. by the operators hand which grasps the handle ofthe blowpipe.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, the invention may be embodiedin a blowpipe B adapted for use in deseaming ingots, billets, blooms,etc., designated as the work W. The blowpipe nozzle N has one or moreoutlet passages II for a combustible gas (such as a mixture of oxygenand acetylene) for preheating portions of the work, and also has anoutlet passage ill for oxidizing gas (such as oxygen) which is appliedto the highly heated portions of the work and melts or gougesoutdefective portions, such. as seams or fissures. The outlet passagesii! and l I in the nozzle N are respectively connected through a head Hto pipes l2 and I 4 which respectively convey cutting or deseamingoxygen and a mixture of acetylene and preheating oxygento the passagesl0 and II. The pipes l2 and I4 extend into and are secured to a handle Awhich carries a valve casing C at its rear end. The casing C has nipplesadapted to be connected to oxygen and acetylene supply conduits X and.Y; and is equipped with adjustable shut-cit valves a the valve Dcontrolling the flow of yg'en from the conduit X to a conduit I5 and thevalve E controlling the flow of acetylene from the conduit Y to aconduit IS. A readily-operable, automatically-closing valve K may beprovided to control the supply of deseaming oxygen to the pipe [2 fromthe conduit X.

Auxiliary valve mechanism is located in the casing C to eliminate thenecessity-of repeatedly opening, closing and adjusting the valves D andE in a course of a day while transferring operations from one to anotherof a number of pieces of work. As best shown in Fig. 3, this valvemechanism may consist of a pair of spring-actuated automatically-closingvalves F and G, respectively controlling the flow of oxygen andacetylene from the outlet sides of valves D and E through the conduitsl5 and Hi to the usual gas mixer M. From the mixer M the gas isdelivered, as a combustible mixture, to the conduit M, from which itdischarges through the outlet passages H in the nozzle N. The valves Fand G may be opened simultaneously by suitable means, asby a pivotedlever L having an arm I 8 which is connected to the stems of both valvesand an arm l9 which extends forwardly alongside the blowpipe handle A.In this position, the hand holding the blowpipe may also press the armHi toward the handle A to open these valves during operations; and whenthe arm 89 is released, as by an operator removing his hand therefrombetween operations, the valve springs 20 and 2|! will automaticallyclose these valves, thus interrupting the flow of heating oxygen andacetylene and extinguishing the flame at the nozzle N. Waste of gasbetween successive operations is thus avoided; and a properlyproportioned heating mixture is assured when the arm I9 is depressed tostart the next operation because the main valves D and E may remain intheir initial open setting that provides the correct volumes of mixture.

oxygen and acetylene for the desired heating Therefore, it isunnecessary to adjust the valves D and E, except at times when the gassupply pressures change and at the beginning and end of a day or aseries of operations.

To further reduce the loss of time and gas in re-lighting the heatingflame, an electrical ignition system is so combined with the blowpipethat the combustible mixture, issuing from thenozzle N when the leverarm 19 is depressed, may be conveniently and immediately ignited. Thismay be accomplished by producing one or a number of sparks at or nearthe mixture outlets of the nozzle and at about the same moment orimmediately after'the lever arm I6 is depressed. To this end, thenormally open switch S, which controls an appropriate electric currentsupply, is located adjacent to the lever arm l9 and preferably on butinsulated from the blowpipe handle A near its forward end, so that thehand which operates the lever L may at the same time close the switch ofthe ignition system as by pressing the button of the switch S toward thehandle A. The switch S may be connected by a cable 22 to a suitablesource of current such as the secondary winding of an electrictransformer T, the primary winding of which may be connected to asuitable light or power supply circuit; and the other lead 23 ofthe-secondary winding is preferably connected to a suitable metalsupport, such as one of the steel rails 24, upon which the work W restswhile it is being operated upon.

The nozzle N, the head H, and the conduits l2 and I4 are of metal andare conductively connected to the metal handle A, and thus provide alink in the electrical circuit of the ignition system. Then, assumingthat the main valves D and E have been adjusted to deliver the correctlyproportioned combustible gas mixture, the work is in place, and thecurrent supply connections have been made, the blowpipe may be lightedto provide a heating flame by depressing lever arm 89 and, as the latterreaches its full open position, closing the switch S while at the sametime contacting the nozzle N with the work W and either producing aspark by then withdrawing the blowpipe from contact with the work or byrubbing the blowpipe nozzle along the surface of the work while theignition circuit is closed, thereby producing a shower of sparks aboutthe end of the nozzle and igniting the gas.

While the ignition circuit shown in Fig. 1 is advantageous because ofits simplicity other systems may be employed to produce the sparkrequired to ignite the gas. For example, in the system shown in Fig. 4,the switch S may control the circuit of an electric battery 25 whichsupplies current through the primary coil of a hightensionmake-and-break vibrator V, the

terminals of the secondary coil of which are connected to terminals ofjump spark points 26, 21 located near the outlets of the nozzle N andmounted on an insulating block 28 secured to the blowpipe. Here,gas-igniting sparks across the gap between points 26 and 2'! may beproduced by closing the switch S as soon as the lever arm L isdepressed, and no engagement of the blowpipe nozzle with the worksurface is necessary.

As soon as a small part of the defective area of the work has beenheated to a kindling temperature by the heating flame, the oxygen streammay be applied through the outlet If] by opening the valve K, which isalso conveniently accessible to the hand grasping the blowpipe handle A.

It will be evident that the invention is applicable as well to othertypes of blowpipes, such as those used for heat treating, welding orcutting metals; and various changes may be made in the details of theblowpipes herein disclosed without departing from the essentialprinciples of the invention.

We claim:

1. A blowpipe for welding, cutting or deseaming metal work comprising ahandle; oxygen and fuel-gas supply conduits connected to said handle;adjustable valves controlling said conduits; a metal nozzle secured tosaid handle by electrically-conductive conduits adapted to communicatewith said oxygen and fuel-gas conduits; additional valves between saidnozzle and said adjustable valves, operable to interrupt gas flow tosaid nozzle when said adjustable valves are in open position; andmechanism for simultaneously operating said additional valves; incombination with means for igniting gas delivered by said nozzle, suchigniting means comprising an electric current supply circuit includingthe work and a switch positioned adjacent said valveoperating mechanismmanually operable concurrently with said valves to simultaneously admitgas to said nozzle and to close said circuit temporarily to produce aspark when said nozzle is contacted with and withdrawn from the work.

2. A blowpipe for welding, cutting or deseaming metal work comprising ametal handle;

oxygen and fuel-gas supply conduits connected.

to said handle; individually adjustable shut-01f valves controlling saidconduits; a metal nozzle secured to said handle byelectrically-conductive oxygen and fuel-gas conduits; and additionalvalve mechanism controlling said oxygen and fuel-gas conduits betweensaid nozzle and said shut-oil valves, said mechanism comprising a pairof automatically-closing valves provided with a single lever adjacentsaid handle for simultaneously opening thesevalves manually; in combination with means for igniting gas delivered by 10 said nozzlecomprising an electric current supply 2,095,710 conduits adapted tocommunicate with said" circuit including the work, said nozzle, saidconductlve ccnduits said handle and a normallyopen switch'mounted onsaid'handle adjacent said lever, said lever and said switch beingmanually operable concurrently to supp y as to said nozzle and totemporarily close said circuit to produce a spark when said nozzle iscontacted with and withdrawn from the work. I

i JOHN W. OFFU'I'I.

wnium B. mm'on;

